Just six months after acquiring the well-respected Pride convenience-store chain in Massachusetts, Arko Corp. opened a new-to-industry store under the Pride banner that it says exemplifies “the Arko way.”
“Arko Corp.’s specialization is to make disciplined acquisitions of strong regional brands with a legacy in their areas and solid brand equity and enhance them through our operational and merchandising abilities and scale,” President and CEO Arie Kotler tells CSP.
For Pride, these enhancements included quickly integrating the chain’s 31 stores, significantly updating and enhancing their merchandise mix, promotional events and adding Arko’s fas Rewards loyalty program.
“Since our acquisition, we have added about 1,000 merchandise items to the stores,” Kotler says. “We also centralized the fuel strategy under the Arko fuel team.”
Those updates are also being extended to the previously existing Pride convenience stores. “Leveraging our operating expertise, we have reset our other Pride locations and have built this one to adhere to those merchandising standards,” Kotler says.
A Proud Brand
Of course, such integrations are a two-way street, and Arko Corp. has also learned a few new tricks from Pride, a Springfield, Massachusetts-based chain of 31 c-stores acquired in December.
“Beside Pride’s excellent reputation and large format stores, this acquisition also gave us an opportunity to absorb some of Pride’s specialized knowledge,” Kotler says, “particularly leveraging the chain’s foodservice offerings and expertise derived from their central kitchen and commissary operation that services their stores and is very well-known to their loyal customers.”
The new Pride convenience store, including Pride-branded fuel canopy, opened in South Windsor, Connecticut, at the end of June. The 4,860-square-foot store includes Chester’s Chicken and proprietary Pride Kitchen food offerings.
“Pride stores are differentiated by their well-known fresh food selection supported by its corporate kitchen and bakery, which provides high-quality bakery items, sandwiches and other items to in-store Pride Kitchens and as grab-and-go options made fresh daily.”
Pride Kitchen offers, among other things, a breakfast menu all day, and grilled-to-order burgers, quesadillas, hotdogs, and “create your own” sandwiches and wraps at lunch and dinner.
The new location also includes:
- Indoor and outdoor seating
- A drive-thru window
- Six multiple product gasoline dispensers (with 12 fueling positions)
- Two diesel dispensers (with four nozzles)
- Five high-flow diesel dispensers (with 10 fuels pumps)
- Parking for 40 cars and 12 diesel trucks
“We are extremely proud of our new location in South Windsor,” Kotler says.
“[We are] leveraging the chain’s foodservice offerings and expertise derived from their central kitchen and commissary operation.”
The store is an extension of Pride’s travel-center footprint, three large-format travel centers that offer amenities for long- and medium-haul drivers.
“With ample parking and an offering and amenities geared toward truck drivers, the new travel center is a beautiful, large-format store with a large forecourt [and] a large fuel island for trucks,” Kotler says. “Consistent with the Pride brand, this location offers foodservice, including Chester’s Chicken, Pride’s large assortment of freshly made goods, coffee, fountain and a drive-thru.”
More to Come
And being an acquisitive company, one that has completed two dozen acquisitions over the past decade, Kotler says more purchases and integration will follow.
“We are always evaluating returns on capital, including new-to-industry locations, mergers and acquisitions—that pipeline is very robust in this highly fragmented industry—functional remodels that enhance our offering, and other levers we have to build shareholder value, including returning capital to shareholders,” he says. “The addition of Pride to our ‘Family of Community Brands’ extended GPM’s presence to Massachusetts, the 34th state in our footprint.”
Richmond, Virginia-based Arko Corp. is the parent company of retailer GPM Investment’s, whose “family of brands” includes Fas Mart, Shore Stop, Scotchman, BreadBox, Young’s, Li’l Cricket, Next Door Store, Village Pantry and Apple Market, among others.
- GPM Investments ranks No. 6 on CSP’s2023 Top 202 list of the largest c-store chains in the country.
STORE STATS
Retail brand: Pride
Owned by: GPM Investments/Arko Corp.
Size: 4,860 square feet
Address: 1049 John Fitch Boulevard, South Windsor, Connecticut
Opened: June 2023
Notable Details:
- Chester’s Chicken and proprietary Pride Kitchen food offerings
- 1,000 new merchandise items
- Indoor and outdoor seating
- A drive-thru window
- 12 fueling positions